Microchip That Birthed Modern Computing Could Fetch $2 Million

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NEW YORK — A prototype microchip designed by famed inventor Jack
Kilby, who went on to create the world's first integrated circuit
that revolutionized the world of computing, will hit the auction
block tomorrow (June 19) here in Manhattan.

The vintage
piece of technology, built more than 55 years ago, could
fetch up to $2 million, according to Christie's, the auction
house handling the sale.

In 1958, Kilby used the prototype to demonstrate that a set of
microscopic electronic circuits could be placed on a single,
small chip. At the time, Kilby was an electrical engineer at
Texas Instruments, a Dallas-based company that manufactures
semiconductors. [ See
Photos of the Microchip & Other Auction Items ]

Christie's calls the prototype microchip "the birth certificate
of the modern
computing era," because the invention helped spawn
"technological breakthroughs that dramatically reduced the size
and cost of computing power."

Microchips have since become ubiquitous in modern electronic
systems, and on Dec. 10, 2000, Kilby won the Nobel Prize in
physics for his invention. The engineer died in 2005 at the age
of 81.

"Microchips are now absolutely everywhere," said James Hyslop,
head of Christie's Travel, Science and Natural History
department. "If you have a smartphone on you, there are probably
going to be about 20 of them in there, and most modern computers
will have at least 20 in them. The microchip is one of the
fundamental building blocks of modern computing."

In particular, the
microchip enabled engineers to miniaturize the massive
computers that characterized the first half of the 20th century,
Hyslop told Live Science Tuesday (June 17) at a preview event for
the sale. "Without it, miniaturization wouldn't have happened,
and computers would have remained these big, building-size
instruments," he said.

Tom Yeargan, who was a technician on Kilby's team at Texas
Instruments, built the chip in 1958. The artifact remained in
Yeargan's private collection and is being sold tomorrow by
members of his family, according to Christie's.

The historic microchip is mounted on glass and enclosed in a
plastic case that belonged to Yeargan. The sale will also include
a label signed by Kilby, and a three-page statement by Yeargan
that details the chronology and building of the integrated
circuit, dated March 6, 1964.

The microchip could attract interest from collectors of vintage
technology who recognize the unique value of this piece of
technological history, according to Christie's representatives.

"It's one of the earliest-recorded integrated circuits still in
private hands," Hyslop said. "This was before the mass production
of microchips in the 1960s, and it's one of the prototypes, so
it's incredibly rare — this is probably the only chance that will
come up in my lifetime."